https://www.ourlondon.ca/news-story/7561535-referee-rebounds-from-life-altering-stroke/
Waiting for just the right moment to step in between
the two large hockey players fighting was a position referee Kevin Brown
had been in many times before. This time, however, would change his
life forever.
Brown was officiating a Jr. C game between the Woodstock Renegades and New Hamburg Firebirds in December 2009 when the fight broke out. He had got down on the ice to separate the players when he felt liquid running down the right side of his body. Believing it was most likely blood and well aware the wound could be serious, he pulled away from the fight and headed straight for the bench.
An errant skate had cut his carotid artery. Remembering only bits and pieces from that point on, Brown does recall trainers from both teams working to stem the flow of blood as they waited for an ambulance to arrive.
While his life was saved in Woodstock, his condition took a turn for the worse when he was transferred to London Heath Sciences Centre. The blood flow to right side of his brain was lost and Brown suffered a major stroke causing his brain to swell soon after.
“It had swelled to the point where they actually had to remove a large piece of his skull in order to keep him alive and try to preserve the remaining brain function and not see more damage occur,” said Dr. Robert Teasell, the medical director of stroke rehabilitation at Parkwood Institute.
Kept in a coma for the next two weeks, Brown remembers waking up in a hospital bed.
“I had a breathing tube in and a bunch of lines going to my arms and people standing around trying to tell me all sorts of different things.”
It was impossible to digest everything that was happening, he said.
Four weeks later, still unable to stand his own or move his left arm or leg, Brown was transferred to Parkwood Institute to begin his rehab with the interdisciplinary team there.
“Kevin was keen to go,” said Teasell, who hastened to add at times Brown had his own ideas about the ways things should go. That included butting heads with doctors less than five hours after being admitted over being able to go and drop the puck at an upcoming hockey game in Stratford.
Brown was officiating a Jr. C game between the Woodstock Renegades and New Hamburg Firebirds in December 2009 when the fight broke out. He had got down on the ice to separate the players when he felt liquid running down the right side of his body. Believing it was most likely blood and well aware the wound could be serious, he pulled away from the fight and headed straight for the bench.
An errant skate had cut his carotid artery. Remembering only bits and pieces from that point on, Brown does recall trainers from both teams working to stem the flow of blood as they waited for an ambulance to arrive.
While his life was saved in Woodstock, his condition took a turn for the worse when he was transferred to London Heath Sciences Centre. The blood flow to right side of his brain was lost and Brown suffered a major stroke causing his brain to swell soon after.
“It had swelled to the point where they actually had to remove a large piece of his skull in order to keep him alive and try to preserve the remaining brain function and not see more damage occur,” said Dr. Robert Teasell, the medical director of stroke rehabilitation at Parkwood Institute.
Kept in a coma for the next two weeks, Brown remembers waking up in a hospital bed.
“I had a breathing tube in and a bunch of lines going to my arms and people standing around trying to tell me all sorts of different things.”
It was impossible to digest everything that was happening, he said.
Four weeks later, still unable to stand his own or move his left arm or leg, Brown was transferred to Parkwood Institute to begin his rehab with the interdisciplinary team there.
“Kevin was keen to go,” said Teasell, who hastened to add at times Brown had his own ideas about the ways things should go. That included butting heads with doctors less than five hours after being admitted over being able to go and drop the puck at an upcoming hockey game in Stratford.
“You’re kind of forced, especially when you get into the rehab at Parkwood,” he said. “You were sent here and your doing it whether you like it or not.”
After three months there, he learned not just to walk again, but also reacquainted himself with the day-to-day tasks of life, including banking and grocery shopping. In time, he left the hospital to continue the rehab process at home.
“‘It was an ongoing process and Kevin had to stick with it,” said Teasell, noting Brown’s recovery has been exceptional.
“One of the reasons Kevin has done so well is he is mentally tough and is a hard worker — he’s used to working hard on the farm and he’s not a quitter — he always keeps going.”
Brown describes his own recovery as a roller-coaster, but in his own self-effacing way said he’s kept on going because, “I’m too dumb to know when to quit.”
Now 33-years old, Brown said he’s trying to re-invent himself and part of that involves getting his story out there and advocating for changes in the health care system to have each patient looked at individually, not as part of a whole.
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